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Your tax dollars at work . . .

Your tax dollars at work . . .

https://nypost.com/2022/12/09/new-york-gets-ready-for-home-delivery-of-marijuana-and-edibles/

“Hey . . . Jose . . . bring me a lid of Colombian Red to 724 evergreen terrace”

Wait . . . is this actually legal? Apparently yes. And New York is ramping up an entire “regulatory body” to monitor door-dash style home delivery of marijuana. See link above. It's really, really true.

NYC of course, is the place with a $3 Billion budget deficit this year. But thank God they found enough money to launch and administer pot deliveries, eh?

NYC also has a homeless population of +/- 100,000. How do they even count this? And can you get uber-pot if you sleep in the subways? Just asking.

Okay – homelessness doesn't do it for you? How about NYC's murder rate – it hit a 20 year high this year. A bunch of those were in subways. Wait – sorry – I agreed to drop that topic. So, so sorry.

Well, NYC is also the place with an “official” high school graduation rate of 75%, but only a 7% dropout rate. Where are the rest of the public-school students? Missing and presumed dead? Lost in the subway system? Okay . .. okay . . I'm done with the murders on the subways. It's over.

Back to the pot deliverers. If you had told me that the city was setting up a bureaucracy to administer liquor deliveries, I'd still be outraged, but at least able to process this. There are a bunch of rappers, Hedge fund operators, and politicians who might need extra bottles of Cristal for a "Succession" style gathering but find it inconvenient to send Greg from their party out to fetch it. Deplorable, but understandable. But you can zip right around this inconvenient speed bump in your quest for living large, and get pot delivered straight to your penthouse. Or your rent controlled, slumlord-owned walkup.

My take? This is possibly the unfortunate end result of people who refuse to come back to the office and work. You can't spark up in your cubicle, for sure.

How does the NYC government even find itself in the middle of this crap? Not by accident, I guess. There probably were “smoke filled room” meetings between pot dispensary moguls and politicians where “something” was offered up as an inducement to legalizing same day home delivery of Aurora Cannabis Inc (listed on the NY Stock Exchange - ticker symbol "ACB"). If only we knew what that was, and who paid it, eh?

Hmmm . . I guess some things are just unknowable. Like the cosmic nature of dark matter, and dark energy. Now . . . dark pot delivery deals.

Maybe the weed delivery persons could be tasked at keeping an eye out for murders in progress, or those tens of thousands of missing public-school students? So the tax dollars spent "regulating" this farce won't be totally wasted (pun alert), eh?
OggggO · 36-40, M
So, are you deliberately misrepresenting this, or did you just not understand the when the article said "State regulators unveiled new rules Friday allowing newly licensed retailers to make home deliveries of weed and THC-infused edible products — even before their shops open for business." that means that private business can get a license to make such deliveries, not that the government will be delivering it themselves?

And follow up, do you understand the difference between New York, a state, and New York City, a municipality?
OggggO · 36-40, M
@SusanInFlorida So, if you understand that difference, why do you spend most of your post making complaints about NYC that would be irrelevant even if this was being done by them rather than New York State?
SusanInFlorida · 31-35, F
@OggggO still hijacking, lol.
OggggO · 36-40, M
@SusanInFlorida Don’t have an answer?
Amylynne · 26-30, F
we in the west have had legal cannabis for years now , and YES you can get it in the store or delivered.
the only trouble has been from new users eating too much at once.
made a lot of tax revenue , made it a waste of time for the criminals, a (mostly)
insured quality and purety, and gave a lot of people jobs

I think its a good thing
does FLA have it yet?
SusanInFlorida · 31-35, F
@Amylynne "new users getting too much at once".

i have a friend with a stoner son. Lives in the basement, plays videogames, porn addiction. He gets his pot deliveries from someone with a medical marijuana prescription, who is marking up and delivering her purchases to fund her lifestyle. Because there are no limits in her state on the amount of pot you can purchase if you have a prescription.

Maybe this is what's happening in your state too?
justanothername · 51-55, M
If you want to live somewhere where you don’t have to pay tax you could live in Monaco.
@SusanInFlorida So in your view, California is doing it right because they have a multi billion budget surplus.
SusanInFlorida · 31-35, F
@LeopoldBloom California is projecting a $100 billion budget deficit. Read more, rant less?

https://www.foxnews.com/us/california-faces-budget-deficit-nearly-100-billion-surplus-last-fiscal-year
@SusanInFlorida Good point, I'm out of date. However, it's not a $100 billion deficit unless you're watching Fox News. The current projection is a $25 billion deficit for the 2023-2024 budget of $235 billion.

https://calbudgetcenter.org/resources/2022-23-california-state-budget-explained/
SunshineGirl · 36-40, F
I think the idea of regulation is to make the trade less 'dark', less dangerous, and less attractive to criminals. Which is really the whole point of liberalisation/legalisation.
SusanInFlorida · 31-35, F
@SunshineGirl and the evidence of success is . . . shootings are down? (they're not). Overdoses are down? (they've skyrocketed). There's even emerging evidence that increased consumption of weed leads to a corresponding increase in alcohol use, with its attendant DUI fatality rates.

Success - we raised more tax revenue!
It's all about revenue and collecting "licensing" fees, permits fees and additional taxes wich can now be easily added later without debate..
Everywhere pot is legal taxes make it ridiculously expensive..
If you must have gummies or 36 percent THC.. buy it at the store but if 26 percent works for you (and it will!) , and you don't mind just smoking.. buy it underground for 30, 40 percent less...

Legal states would earn more if they taxed it less
SusanInFlorida · 31-35, F
@Onestarlitnight critics pointed out that highly taxed "legal" marijuana would be a godsend to pot smugglers/illicit growers. and it has been. simply "branding" weed doesnt justify the huge taxes paid by the consumer.

What's next? Legal cocaine? Legal opium (heroin)?
Where do the tax dollars come into play? Just the regulatory body? The permits to become a delivery driver and set up a warehouse are unlikely to be free and can probably cover the costs of the oversight and more.
@SusanInFlorida very simple: capitalism. And you're right, that doesn't treat most people nicely. It only works because it's good for the top 1% that makes the rules.
SusanInFlorida · 31-35, F
@NerdyPotato okay - free markets are the cause of government corruption? how do you explain places like russia, china, cuba, north korea, etc.

Let's just agree that governments want to hold onto power by any means necessary. Allowing people to work and earn a profit isn't inherently corrupting.
@SusanInFlorida corruption doesn't come free markets, but capitalism does indeed encourage bribes, yes. And I don't need to explain anything about dictatorships because those have nothing to do with weed, market dynamics or anything relating to this post. Let's stick to the topic.

Sure, I agree governments not only would, but actually go over dead bodies to keep the systems that benefit politicians in place. There is nothing wrong with working or earning a profit, but capitalism pushes this to the extreme where workers have to harm their health to barely survive in order for CEOs to earn more than they could ever spend. If you see no problem in that, we just live in different worlds and I have nothing left to say about yours.
familyfunguy · 56-60, M
Subtle satire, by chance? If not, you could very well be someone who thinks that laws and regulations for tobacco smokers are very unfair.
SusanInFlorida · 31-35, F
@familyfunguy i'm agnostic on tobacco. my grandfather died of lung cancer. but i don't blame the US government or the tobacco companies. he knew early on that it was destructive habit.

America has a surfeit of legal but harmful offerings: liquor, tobacco, casinos, free porn, big macs, 800 horsepower muscle cars, unlmited guns and ammo . . .

tobacco is just part of the mix
SatanBurger · 36-40, FVIP
Some people need those edibles for chronic pain and others for anxiety, I think it's nice and I don't smoke or take anything.
SusanInFlorida · 31-35, F
@SatanBurger

A half dozen credentialed medical organizations, including Harvard and BMI, say that marijuana does not reduce pain. that at best it's a placebo. at worst, it harms it your health. See below.

In the 19th century quacks and charlatans flooded the nation with "patent medicines" consisting mostly of liquor, because people were just as gullible back then. Or just as eager to get high.

https://www.anxietycentre.com/research/medical-marijuana-doesnt-reduce-chronic-pain/

https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/does-cannabis-actually-relieve-pain-or-is-something-else-going-on-202212082863

https://www.statnews.com/2021/09/08/medical-cannabis-unlikely-to-benefit-most-chronic-pain-patients-researchers-say/

https://health.clevelandclinic.org/why-using-cannabis-to-manage-pain-isnt-yet-recommended-by-pain-doctors/
SatanBurger · 36-40, FVIP
@SusanInFlorida Here's what Harvard also says about CBD:

One particular form of childhood epilepsy called Dravet syndrome is almost impossible to control but responds dramatically to a CBD-dominant strain of marijuana called Charlotte’s Web. The videos of this are dramatic.

https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/medical-marijuana-2018011513085

The thing about studies is that not all studies are equal and there's more information to weigh before making an opinion because peoples personal experiences with pain are hard to quantify.

In the link you shared about Harvard saying that medical marijuana was no different than placebo were that 1) pain medications such as aspirin and ibuprofen, placebos proved about as much relief as the actual drugs. Active medications do have physiological effects but the effects of a placebo rival and mimic those effects.

Also, 2) It's a conundrum because a clinical trial isn't real life also said by the person in the article. Chronic pain is notoriously difficult to treat but if something helps relieve the pain and doesn't cause significant harm, then go ahead and use it. Also said by a doctor at Harvard but also check with your doctor just in case.

https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/does-cannabis-actually-relieve-pain-or-is-something-else-going-on-202212082863
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